Biblock or multiblock transverse member and method for the production thereof

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a biblock or multiblock transverse member provided with concrete blocks which comprises rail plates connected to each other with the aid of an incorporated reinforcement elements. Said transverse member consists of many individual prefabricated blocks whose two reinforcement elements are interconnected, more particularly welded.

The invention relates to a two-block or multi-block railroad tie withconcrete blocks, which carry the rail supports and are connected withone another by tied-in reinforcing parts, as well as to a method forproducing such two-block or multi-block railroad ties.

For previous methods of producing two-block railroad ties or alsomulti-block railroad ties, complete ties are produced in one mold andsubsequently have to be equipped only with the rail-fastening means.This method of producing the complete ties, and this applies, of course,particularly to multi-block railroad ties, such as those used, forexample, at the switch points, has the disadvantage that the very longand, with that, also heavy railroad ties can be transported onlyawkwardly from the manufacturing plant to the far-removed building site.In so doing, the danger also exists, in particular, that the longrailroad ties will be damaged during this transport and, especially,will be bent, so that they are no longer aligned accurately for thedesired gauge.

It is therefore an object of the invention to configure a two-block ormulti-block railroad tie of the type mentioned above, which can beproduced easily and ensures a more advantageous, damage-free transportto the building site.

Pursuant to the invention, this objective is accomplished owing to thefact that the two-block or multi-block railroad tie consists of severalprefabricated individual blocks, the protruding reinforcements of whichare connected with one another and, in particular, welded together. Thisresults in a preferred manufacturing method, for which the prefabricatedindividual blocks, which, after all, are correspondingly short andlight, are transported from the factory to the building site and arealigned to the correct gauge with the help of a gage and connected withone another only in the area of the building site.

In a development of the invention, equalizing pieces are disposedbetween the reinforcing parts of the individual blocks in order to makepossible a connection, especially a welded connection, at the correctgauge width in spite of any displacement of the alignment.

For this purpose and in accordance with a further distinguishing featureof the present invention, the protruding reinforcing parts in theindividual blocks may, for example, be offset laterally in each case, sothat, when the individual blocks are aligned axially, they overlap oneanother and extend closely adjacent to one another. This constructionenables the track lengths to be equalized by a mutual displacement ofthe individual blocks and, at the same time, as a result of theoverlapping of the reinforcing parts, to ensure that a problem-freeconnection in any assignment of the individual blocks, in spite of thisdisplaceability.

It is particularly advantageous if the reinforcements are V-shaped barjoists with, in each case, three parallel, longitudinal reinforcingrods, which are connected with one another by a zigzag-shaped bracing.

For this construction as bar joists, it can very easily be arranged thatthe protruding sections of the bar joists are sufficiently long, so thatthey mutually overlap in every case. By slightly bending up the one barjoist, it can readily overlap the protruding bar joist of the adjoiningindividual block, whereupon the mutually overlapping parts can beclamped, bolted or preferably welded.

Moreover, a connection, for which the protruding sections of the barjoists are constructed shortened, so that they are still at a distancefrom one another for the final assembly, is achieved particularlyeasily. The connection can then be brought about by a correspondinglysomewhat larger bar joist piece, which is placed simply ever themutually opposite bar joist ends of the individual blocks and then, asalready indicated, clamped together with or bolted or welded to these.

Finally, it is also within the scope of the invention that the mutuallybraced reinforcing parts also protrude downward from the only partlyformed concreting of the individual blocks. This ensures that therailroad ties are embedded even more strongly in the pavementsespecially in the case of solid pavements with railroad ties embedded inthe sealing layer.

As already indicated, the present invention is generally suitable forrailroad ties at switch points, since these are particularly long andheavy, especially in the end regions of the switch points, where theouter rails are relatively far apart. If they are then also to beconstructed as multi-block ties for the purpose of saving weight, aspecial transporting problem arises in view of the length, since it isvery likely then that damage and bending will occur.

Further advantages, distinguishing features and details of the inventionarise out of the following description of an example and from thedrawing, in which

FIG. 1 shows an exploded representation of an inventive two-blockrailroad tie before the individual blocks are connected to one another,

FIG. 2 shows a diagrammatic view of a multi-block railroad tieconsisting of three individual blocks before these individual blocks arefinally aligned and connected with one another,

FIG. 3 shows a diagrammatic plan view of switch points to illustrate themulti-block railroad ties required there,

FIG. 4 shows a section along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3 and

FIG. 5 shows a view of a three-block railroad tie with differentlyconstructed reinforcement.

FIG. 1 shows a two-block railroad tie especially for a solid pavement,with individual blocks 1 of identical construction, which are to beconnected with one another and which merely are rotated by 180°, so thatthe reinforcing parts 2 protruding from them, after an appropriatealignment of the individual blocks, can be connected with one anotherwith the help of a gage. For this purpose, either appropriate connectingpieces can be placed down, which are connected with the two reinforcingparts 2, or the reinforcing parts are offset laterally, so that, whenthe individual blocks 1 are aligned axially, being laterally offset,they overlap one another and, in this way, can be welded together. Forthe embodiment of individual blocks 1 shown, the reinforcement of whichis formed by one or optionally also several V-shaped, angled bar joists3, for which in each case three reinforcing rods 4, 5 and 6, whichextend parallel to one another, are connected with one another byzigzag-shaped meandering coils 7, it is possible that, contrary to theembodiment shown in FIG. 1, the bar joists 3 are composed in each caseof two sections of different dimensions, overlapping in the interior ofthe concrete blocks 8 of the individual blocks 1, in such a manner thatthe sections, when brought together, can grip one another. Should thisnot be possible by bending up the one protruding section, it is likely,as already mentioned above, that the protruding sections 2 of the barjoists 3 is constructed shortened in such a manner, that they are nolonger able to contact one another at the building site during thealignment. Instead, the connection is brought about by spacers,preferably by bar joist sections inserted in them or slipped over then.These bar joist sections are clamped, bolted or preferably weldedtogether with the ends 2.

A three-block railroad tie for switch points, consisting of theindividual blocks 1, 1′ and 1″, is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2,that is, without a detailed representation of the rail supports. In thiscase also, these individual blocks 1, 1′ and 1″ are prefabricated in thefactory and transported to the building site as lightweight componentsof small volume and aligned there finally at the correct intervals withthe help of a gage. The protruding reinforcing parts 2 are then onceagain connected with one another, especially by welding.

FIG. 3 diagrammatically shows a plan view of switching points, in thearea of which there is a plurality of completely different railroadties. In the example shown, especially in the region of the switchpoints itself, the railroad ties no longer are constructed as mono-blockrailroad ties of appropriate length. Instead, they are constructed asmulti-block railroad ties. For this purpose, the inventive finalassembly from prefabricated individual blocks directly at the buildingsite is particularly suitable.

FIG. 4 shows one such three-block railroad tie as a section along lineIV-IV in FIG. 3, the protruding reinforcing parts 2 of thereinforcements, which are constructed also here once again as bar joists3, are constructed by overlapping bar joist sections 9, which end at adistance from one another. These bar joist sections 9 are clamped,bolted or preferably welded together with the bar joist end parts 2 in amanner that is not shown.

In the final analysis, it does not matter at all that, as can be seen inFIG. 3, five to six different individual blocks are required forconstructing the different railroad ties at switch points since, in theexample shown, at least seven or more different, very long and unwieldyrailroad ties for switch points would be required for the example shownin the case of a mono-block construction. The individual blocks, whichare produced more easily because shorter molds are required, and theirsimpler, damage-free transport and their very simple connection to thefinished railroad ties for switch points immediately before theinstallation at the building site, make the inventive production fromsuch individual blocks appreciably more advantageous than theconventional prefabrication in the plant of the whole railroad ties forswitching points.

FIG. 5 shows a three-block railroad tie, through which parallel,continuous reinforcing iron is passed in the form of strongerreinforcing rods or pipes. Aside from butt welding, which howeverpermits only slight equalization movements in the gage at the buildingsite and are therefore requires particularly accurate prefabrication inthe plant, the connection can be brought about particularly easily bypushed-on pipes 9, as indicated in the left half of FIG. 5. Theaddressed case of butt welding 10 is shown in the right half of FIG. 5.

The invention is not limited to the example shown. In particular, it isnot necessary that the concreting of the individual blocks 8 be carriedout only partly, so that the reinforcements also protrude partly at thebottom from the concrete blocks, as is particularly preferred fortwo-block or multi-block railroad ties for solid pavements. Moreover,reinforcements other than the bar joists shown, such as prefabricatedreinforcing baskets or several continuous reinforcing rods or the likecould, of course, also be provided.

1. Two-block or multi-block railroad tie which carry the rail supports,comprising a plurality of prefabricated individual concrete blockshaving protruding reinforcement parts, and connections which connectsaid protruding reinforcement parts to thereby form the two block ormultiblock railroad tie.
 2. The two-block or multi-block railroad tie ofclaim 1, wherein equalizing pieces are disposed between the reinforcingparts.
 3. The two-block or multi-block railroad tie of claim 1, whereinthe protruding reinforcing parts are, in each case, offset laterally inthe individual blocks, so that, when the individual blocks are alignedaxially, they overlap one another and extend closely next to oneanother.
 4. The two-block or multi-block railroad tie of claim 1,wherein the reinforcements are V-shaped, angled bar joists with, in eachcase three longitudinal rods, forming the edges of a triangular prism,and two meandering coils connecting these.
 5. The two-block ormulti-block railroad tie of claim 4, wherein the bar joists of eachindividual block are connected with one another by placed-down orpushed-in bar joist sections, which are clamped, bolted or weldedtogether.
 6. The two-block or multi-block railroad tie of claim 1,wherein the reinforcing parts, braced with one another, protrudedownward out of the only partly formed concreting of the individualblocks.
 7. The two-block or multi-block railroad tie of claim 1, whereinreinforcing rods of the reinforcing parts, which are spaced apartopposite one another, are connected to one another by mounted pipesections.
 8. Method for producing a two-block or multi-block railroadties comprising prefabricating a plurality of individual concrete blockshaving protruding reinforcement parts, aligning the plural blocks at theinstallation site utilizing a gauge, and connecting the protrudingreinforcement parts of the aligned plural individual blocks at the jobsite to form said two block or multi-block railroad tie.